Since 2020 Sofie Boons has been collaborating with a physicist and crystal grower as part of her, recently completed, doctoral research. Her collaborator, Daniel Rytz, has been active in the field of crystals for optical, piezoelectric and other applications since 1977. In 2012, together with his partner Corinne Siegrist, he founded BREVALOR as a platform to develop crystals with novel properties for ornamental applications. One of the innovations he has been working on, are phosphorescent crystals. The materials BRG and BRB have similar properties to classical gemstones: their hardness allows them to be shaped and facetted, and they have the optical appearance of gems. This light-emitting gemstone material, capable of storing energy and generating its own light, is taking the quest to optimise light reflection in gemstones to a whole new dimension. In this episode, Sofie and Daniel discuss his career, the subject of crystal growth and his thoughts on the future of these and other novel materials for the jewellery industry.

Tom Chatham is currently chairman of the board at Chatham Created Gems & Diamonds, Inc. Previously, he was CEO of Chatham Created Gems & Diamonds, Inc. The firm's accomplishments include the first successful production of emerald (1935), ruby (1959) sapphires of many colors (1970's) alexandrite (1972) and Lab Grown diamond (1996). Tom Chatham has been active in the gem production area for over 55 years and has been a frequent speaker world wide on the subject of gemstone and diamond production. Tom Chatham is also an author, releasing the book "The Chatham Legacy" in 2023. Chatham Inc sells to every level of the gem business, world wide, on the wholesale level. Today, principle aim is at independent jewelry outlets numbering in the thousands of outlets

Our bodily presence in the world is likely of ever greater interest to artists, designers and makers in our increasingly digitally navigated context. What it feels like to engage with the physical world and how this influences our understanding of it has been the subject of investigation in theories such as phenomenology dating back to the early 20th century. Of continued relevance today, as designers we ask ourselves what it feels like to wear jewellery, how does it respond or relate to the movements of our body, and can jewellery be in artistic dialogue with these motions, highlighting the human body and its interactions with the world? This approach can encourage us to create jewellery that resonates on a sensory and emotional level, making the experience of wearing the piece as significant as the piece itself. A jewellery artist who has been fascinated by these contemplations, and who has collaborated with choreographers, dancers, musicians, filmmakers and scientists to investigate, create and capture movement narratives, is John Moore. His work challenges traditional boundaries, positioning the wearer as an active participant in the jewellery’s expression. Join us to find out more about his work and what it means to design for movement.

A lot of jewellery designers are no stranger to shifting between the digital and physical both for the creation of work and the communication of work. There are companies and researchers/practitioners that question and advance these practices, considering craft thinking in the context of digital experience and asking what it means to be human in an increasingly layered physical and digital world. Lynne Craig is an innnovation director, academic and founder of computational adornment. Her work, research and practice connects design, technology, education and business development; exploring the frontiers of emergent technologies and cultural change. To talk to me today about her work and what it means to be a digitally conscious maker/thinker today

Tiia Vahula and Philip Wilck, founders of Utopia Blu aim to embrace the boundless potential of human imagination, whilst striving for a future that is not only visually appealing but also sustainable and meaningful. Breaking disciplinary boundaries, the couple look to technology to enable creative innovations that strike the right balance between culture and nature. For this podcast episode we review how the self-proclaimed formalists have been nourishing an ability to envision sensitive possibilities, finding inspiration in nature whilst advocating for progress, by exploring emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, augmented reality, and virtual reality, to create transformative experiences that blend seamlessly with the physical world.

Sustainable practice can be seen from a range of perspectives, including the idea of Urban Mining materials, rather than using virgin materials. What we choose as materials to work from has a big impact on our practice. A researcher who has taken the practice of urban mining one step further, and has been working in the Bio-Design field for quite some time is Marie Melcore. With her work she is keen to transcend disciplinary boundaries in order to address common sustainability issues and offer out of the box design and ideas proposals that can contribute to solving the big problems we face. In this episode she tells us more about her career, practice and the materials she’s been locating, questioning and transforming as part of her projects.

When considering alternative approaches to materials and making, you may come across Bio-design, which can be understood as a means to incorporate the inherent life-conducive principles of biological living systems into the design and making process - and this in order to move towards a more sustainable and caring future. If we want to become more empathic towards our environment, so we can co-create, collaborate with non-humans whilst constructing and most importantly improving our context, wouldn’t it be important we gain an understanding of these living systems first? What does the world feel like to a tree? And can jewellery provide an ecological service to our environment? Someone who has asked themselves these very questions, and many more questions in relation to the topic of bio-design, is researcher, designer and artist Yuning Chen. Join us in this episode, where she tells us more about her career, practice and the materials she’s been investigating as part of her projects.

Hidden behind a colourful facade on a small estate in South London, you can find a treasure trove of carefully reviewed, sorted and organised ‘waste’ materials. The Work and Play Scrapstore, and its team of passionate volunteers, enable artists, makers and anyone with any use for materials, to come and be inspired. From discarded famous costumes to offcuts of wood, textiles, plastics and much, much more, the Work and Play Scrapstore is a place where anyone with an interest in materials and making could spend hours exploring. Tune in to hear more about the concept of the store, the materials and objects it holds, and how anyone can engage with and support the cause.

Gold, as we know it best, is not really a material that gets distributed fairly, or even gets worked on in cooperation. But there is archaeological evidence for spectacular goldwork in stateless societies providing compelling proof that complex technologies could be sustained in the absence of coercive powers. With cooperation being a key to tackling some of our greatest global concerns, and fair distribution of materials such as gold and access to luxurious objects an ethical ambition, this should pique our interest. This month we speak to a researcher who has been tracing our fascinating relationship with gold and other luxurious materials in various places and across segments of time. Professor Marcos Martinón-Torres is the Pitt-Rivers Professor of Archaeological Science at the University of Cambridge and researches the archaeology of alchemy and metals, investigating different forms of craft organisation, knowledge transmission, innovation, and value systems. We speak to him about his research, and how looking back can maybe inspire moving forward.

When thinking about materials and objects as a maker, it is important to consider the impact these materials and objects have. In a first instance that can involve considering the life cycle of materials, and constructing objects well so they are cared for and passed on rather than discarded. But what does it mean to create objects that get ‘passed on’? These objects could also be referred to as ‘kinship objects’. A thought that crossed my mind upon finding a small book that packs a punch titled ‘The Material Kinship Reader’ edited by Kris Dittel and Clementine Edwards. What role do materials and objects play in the organisation of social relationships? What does it mean to possess materials and objects? To discuss their work and ponder these interesting and necessary topics, we will delve into the world of artist Clementine Edwards.

In a world full of objects, and as makers of objects, the agency of objects and materials is fascinating. Why do certain objects become valuable to us, and others not? Today sustainable making is a key consideration, and waste poses a real sustainability challenge. Are there opportunities in waste? Can we re-consider waste sensitively, incorporating it into our practices as tools, materials and actors?

A maker who has been fascinated with the temporality of materials is Katy Gillam-hull. A maker of objects and jewellery who reflects upon found and archival materials and objects and their capacity for encounter and for accumulating narrative through time. In this episode we talk about her views on waste, ponder materials and their stories, and delve into her practice, where waste is not wasted.